kim's decorating chronicles: ch. 3

The new arrangement accentuates the room's length and invites guests to sit and chat.


The No Longer Lonely Living Room.
Here we have the final chapter in Kim's decorating chronicles (for now).

Kim's living room is the first thing you see when you step into the house. Before we redecorated it, the room functioned more as a hallway to the kitchen and family room at the back of the house, than anything else. Kim and her husband never spent any time in the space, although they had spent plenty of money on great furniture for it. The room looked seldom used and not quite finished.

We reconfigured the pieces so that it felt more inviting and added new pieces so it could function better and serve a surprising new purpose. Here are LOTS of photos showing what we did.

Before when entering the room, the sofa acted as a visual barrier, making the space seem cramped.

Now, with the sofa facing the fireplace, a cozy seating area is created.


Looking towards the door before from behind the sofa, there was nothing to see.


Now the eye glides along the sofa and over to the writing nook.


Kim had nowhere to set a glass of wine. We found this end table at an antique mall for $13 and painted it with red paint left over from the kitchen.


The fireplace used to be cluttered with too many unrelated pieces, and did not feel like a focal point.


We found a simple second hand mirror for $12 and painted it red like the table. A couple of candle sconces that Kim had never opened went up, along with one personal photo and little bird print we found at TJ Maxx added style. The antlers are from one of her husband's hunting trips provided the finishing touch.


The chairs that Kim bought to coordinate with her sofa felt so lonely in the far off nook at the end of the room.


Placing them on either side of the fireplace gave them a context and made the fireplace feel more prominent. The floor lamp from TJ Maxx provides much needed mood and task lighting for reading by the fire.

This used to be an awkward space. No one sat here.


The nook is now home to a desk and turquoise file cabinet from World Market, and a lamp and chair from Pier 1 Imports (all incredible deals). Kim really needed a space to do scrap booking, and now she's got it!
Kim's favorite part about this redo is the fact that she is finally utilizing this room! She has been working on her scrapbooks and also envisions cozy nights in front of the fire with her husband come winter. Now that the downstairs feels done, Kim has started thinking about what do with the bedrooms upstairs! I feel another chapter coming on real soon...